Elvis Presley and Priscilla: A Timeline of Their Relationship, Marriage and Divorce

Elvis and Priscilla Presley are two names that have gone down in the history of pop culture in America. Elvis, of course, is hailed as the King of Rock 'n' Roll and one of the biggest stars to ever live, and Priscilla is the woman who stole his heart. Although the couple were only married for six years and their marriage was tumultuous at times, they always kept love for one another in their heart — up until the day Elvis died at just 42 years old. Even today, Priscilla has kind words for her late ex-husband, and she was involved in the promotion of the 2022 Elvis biopic by walking the Met Gala red carpet with the cast and attending the movie premiere. Here's a look back at Elvis and Priscilla's relationship, marriage, divorce and relations up to the singer's death.

September 1959: Elvis and Priscilla Meet for the First Time

Elvis Presley first met Priscilla Beaulieu in 1959 while he was stationed in Germany in the U.S. Army. Priscilla, who lived in Germany with her mother and Air Force officer father, was only 14 years old when she met her future husband. She was escorted to a party at Elvis' home by the singer's friend Currie Grant, and it was there the two first saw one another. Priscilla later shared in a People article that she "spotted Elvis immediately," and he was more handsome and younger than he looked in his films, as well as "more vulnerable looking with his GI haircut." Presley seemingly took an immediate liking to Priscilla, singing tunes such as "Rags to Riches" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight" straight to her. "I noticed that the less response I showed, the more he began singing just for me. I couldn't believe that Elvis Presley was trying to impress me," she later said.

1959: Elvis and Priscilla Share Their First Kiss

Not long after their first meeting, Priscilla went to Elvis' home again, and it was during their second meeting that the star gave her what she described as her "first real kiss." According to Priscilla's own retelling, the two had been cuddling and Presley told her of his mother's death the previous year. He kissed her goodbye and told her, "We have plenty of time, Little One," while giving her another kiss on the forehead.

1959: Elvis Meets Priscilla's Parents

As Elvis and Priscilla began to grow closer, Priscilla's father, Paul Beaulieu, soon "laid down the law." She writes that after their fourth date, her dad insisted on meeting the singer, so Elvis drove to her parents' home in his BMW and dressed in his Army best. It was there that Elvis and Priscilla's father had a frank conversation. Mr. Beaulieu told Elvis that he must properly court his daughter — meaning pick her up from their home and drop her back off after dates. He also questioned Elvis on his intentions, and the singer made his thoughts clear.

"Well, sir, I happen to be very fond of her," Elvis told Priscilla's father. "She's a lot more mature than her age and I enjoy her company. It hasn't been easy for me, being away from home and all. It gets kinda lonely. I guess you might say I need someone to talk to. You don't have to worry about her, Captain. I'll take good care of her."

1959: Their Courtship Continues

After Elvis met with Priscilla's father, the couple were allowed to continue seeing one another. The singer would call her home around 7 p.m. to let her know he'd be coming to pick her up. He would arrive around 8, and they would spend much of their time at his home with other people around. Priscilla wrote that she began to feel "jealous and possessive" due to their lack of alone time, but they would spend time alone toward the end of the evening. As she recalls, "At about 10 or 11, Elvis would glance at me and look toward the stairs. Then, naïvely assuming that nobody knew where I was headed, I'd casually proceed to his bedroom, where I'd lie on his bed, waiting for him to appear. ... And then we'd kiss long, deep passionate kisses." Priscilla has shared on multiple occasions that she and Elvis did not share much more than kisses until their wedding day.

"Something in his Southern upbringing had taught him that the 'right' girl was to be saved for marriage," she wrote in People. "I was that girl."

March 1960: Elvis Returns to the United States

Once Elvis' time in the military was over, in March 1960, he returned to Tennessee, and Priscilla wrote that she was in a state of "complete despair" at his departure. After he left, her life changed drastically.

"For the two days after Elvis left, I locked myself in my room, unable to eat, unable to sleep," she writes. "Finally I forced myself to go to school and found myself swamped by reporters and photographers."

Priscilla soon began hearing about rumored romances between Elvis and other women, such as Nancy Sinatra. She heard from the singer occasionally — he called her 21 days after he left and he would touch base every few months — but her hope for their relationship was waning. Finally, in February 1962, Elvis called and invited her to visit him in Los Angeles.

Summer 1962: Priscilla Visits Elvis in Los Angeles

After several calls from Elvis to Priscilla's parents in an attempt to convince them to allow her to visit, Priscilla finally made her way to L.A. two years after his departure from Germany. Priscilla's parents allowed her to visit with the prerequisites that she would send them daily itineraries and she would be chaperoned. Priscilla made her way to Elvis' home to find a group of people playing pool, and she noted a change in the singer's demeanor compared to their time in Germany.

"He'd left Germany a gentle, sensitive and insecure boy; through the course of the evening I'd see that he now was mischievous and self-confident to the point of cockiness," she wrote.

The day after she arrived, Elvis invited Priscilla to come with him to Las Vegas. She agreed, and in order to keep her parents' suspicions at bay, she pre-wrote postcards for each day of the trip that would be mailed out of Los Angeles. In Vegas, Elvis took Priscilla shopping and arranged for her to have her hair and make up done. According to Priscilla, the two "slept during the day and played at night." It was then that Priscilla became acquainted with Elvis' habit of taking pills, and she also joined in on taking amphetamines and sleeping pills in order to "keep up" with the lifestyle. "Despite whatever misgivings I had about pills, I took them," she wrote.

December 1962: Priscilla Visits Elvis Again for the Holidays

After being apart for months following her visit to the U.S., Priscilla got the chance to see Elvis yet again when she visited Graceland for Christmas in 1962.

1963: Priscilla Moves to Memphis

After visiting Elvis in Graceland for the holidays, Priscilla asked her parents if she could move to Memphis and finish her high school career there. They initially said no, but Elvis soon called her father to assure him that she would live with his parents, Vernon and Dee Presley. Her parents agreed, and Priscilla moved to Memphis to finish her schooling at Immaculate Conception High School in Memphis, Tennessee. She carried out her promise to live with his parents, but it wasn't her ideal situation.

"Living with them turned out to be difficult," she wrote. "I felt out of place in their home, and did not want to be an intrusion in their personal life."

1963: Priscilla Moves Into Elvis' Graceland Home

While she was still living with Elvis' parents and Elvis was away in L.A., Priscilla says she began spending more time at the singer's Graceland home with his grandmother. She then began slowly moving her things into Elvis' home "almost unnoticed." "By the time he suggested that I move into Graceland I already had," she says.

December 1966: Elvis Proposes to Priscilla

Three years after she moved to Memphis permanently, Elvis got down on one knee and proposed to Priscilla. "He got on his knee with a gift behind his back and told me to close my eyes. Of which I did and then told me to open them and he presented me with a beautiful engagement ring," she told NPR in 2017.

The ring featured a 3.5-carat diamond. Priscilla has alluded that society's view of them was part of the reason for the engagement. "Even though we were perfectly content the way we were, at that time it wasn't nice for people to live together, [without being married]," she once told Ladies Home Journal. 

May 1, 1967: Elvis and Priscilla Get Married

In May 1967, Elvis and Priscilla got married in Las Vegas. According to People, the ceremony was only eight minutes long and took place at the Aladdin Hotel. They danced to Elvis' song "Love Me Tender" at the reception, and they reportedly had a six-tier sponge cake that cost $3,200.

May 1967: They Go on Their Honeymoon and Return Home

After they got married, the couple jetted to Palm Springs, California, for their honeymoon. When they returned, they spent time at their property near Memphis. They also hosted an additional wedding reception on at Graceland on May 29, inviting friends and family who couldn't make the wedding.

1967: Priscilla Presley Becomes Pregnant

Not long after they tied the knot, Priscilla became pregnant, which, she admitted, was not exactly how she intended to begin the marriage. In the Orlando Sentinel, she wrote that while she wanted to have a baby, she didn't plan on having one so soon. She wrestled with the idea, but when she told Elvis, he was "ecstatic." Their relationship encountered a few bumps while she was pregnant, however, when she heard rumors yet again about a romance between Elvis and his Speedway co-star, Nancy Sinatra. When Nancy threw her a baby shower, she put those worries to rest.

Elvis soon threw Priscilla for another loop in the seventh month of her pregnancy when he unexpectedly asked for a "trial separation." The singer told his wife he was "going through some things," but after a few days without any mention of it again, that topic was dropped.

"I later realized he too had questions about how a baby would affect his life," Priscilla wrote after the fact. "Would his public accept him as a father? He wasn't even sure whether his fans had adapted to his becoming a husband. How loyal would they be?"

Feb. 1, 1968: Elvis and Priscilla Welcome Their Daughter, Lisa Marie Presley

Elvis and Priscilla welcomed their first and only child, Lisa Marie Presley, on Feb. 1, 1968. Priscilla wrote in the Orlando Sentinel that she awoke to contractions at 8 a.m. She called her doctor, who encouraged her to go the hospital, and then she woke Elvis, who proclaimed to people downstairs, "She's ready! Cilla's going to have the baby!" After Priscilla applied her makeup and fixed her hair, the couple drove to the hospital — only to find themselves at the wrong one. Once they arrived at the correct hospital, their daughter was born at 5:01 p.m. Priscilla said Elvis was "thrilled" to meet their daughter, but he also "looked petrified" to hold her. She also described a sweet scene in which she saw a different side to her husband.

"The man in my hospital room that day was the man I loved and will always love," she wrote. "He didn't have to try to be strong and decisive or sexy; he wasn't afraid to show his warmth or vulnerability. He didn't have to act the part of Elvis Presley, superstar. He was just a man, my husband."

1968 to 1972: Infidelities Plunge Their Marriage Into Trouble

Rumors of Presley's affairs with other women continued throughout their marriage, and around 1968, Priscilla started taking dance lessons. In her book Elvis and Me, she revealed that she found herself attracted to her instructor, Mark, and the two soon had an affair. Afterward, Priscilla said she realized she needed "much more" out of her marriage with her husband. In 1972, Priscilla had another affair with her karate teacher, Mike Stone. She was also aware of her husband's infidelities during this time.

"He wasn't faithful, not that he had someone special, but when you're in the entertainment business there is always that and I tried to turn my back to that, but I just didn't want to share him," she once said, according to Yahoo News.

These problems, in addition to Elvis' heavy touring schedule, put a damper on their relationship. In the end, their marriage couldn't recover.

February 1972: Elvis and Priscilla Separate

Elvis and Priscilla officially separated on Feb. 23, 1972, according to their divorce documents obtained by People.

August 1972: Elvis and Priscilla Officially Divorce

Elvis and Priscilla's divorce was finalized on Aug. 15, 1972. The documents cited "unfortunate circumstances and unhappy differences" as the reason for the split. The couple split up their assets, with Priscilla receiving Elvis' 1971 Mercedes-Benz, his 1969 Cadillac Eldorado and a 1971 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. She also received half of the income from the couple's three homes, plus a payment of $1.7 million and payments of $8,000 per month for 10 years, according to People.

1972 to 1977: Elvis and Priscilla Remain Good Friends

Although their marriage didn't last, Elvis and Priscilla had love for one another until the singer's death in 1977. Priscilla said they "never lost our friendship and our care for each other,"  and they would often talk on the phone. Charlie Hodge once commented on their post-marriage friendship to People, saying, "they were like two high school kids. They still called each other and told each other everything they were going to do." According to People, they also continued to call each other "Mommy" and "Daddy" in front of their daughter, which made Lisa "feel stable."

Aug. 16, 1977: Elvis Presley Dies

On Aug. 16, 1977, Elvis Presley passed away at the age of 42 at his home in Graceland. Upon hearing of his death, Priscilla said, "I wanted to die." She also called the death a "shock" and said she had noticed her ex-husband's declining health before he died. She attended his funeral on Aug. 18 and still recalls the lines of fans "crying, hysterical, fainting." On the one-year anniversary of Elvis' death, Priscilla went to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City with her then-boyfriend, Michael Edwards. Priscilla has been involved in the management of Elvis' estate after his death with her daughter, Lisa.

 

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